McKinney Tells Quiet Corner Tea Party Patriots He Would Support Repeal

Sen. John McKinney, who represents Newtown and supported stricter gun control measures, told the Quiet Corner Tea Party Patriots on Tuesday that if he was governor and the legislature sent him a repeal of the gun bill he would sign it.

The Connecticut Democratic Party, which captured the video of McKinney’s remarks by using a video tracker, called it “political pandering.”

An audience member asked McKinney, “If the Republicans took over the General Assembly and they put forward a repeal of SB 1160, if you were elected governor would you sign it?”

“If the legislature repeals something, I think the governor owes a great deference to what the legislature does, and I would,” McKinney replied.

In a phone interview Wednesday, McKinney said the likelihood that it would happen is slim.

McKinney said what the video the Democratic Party didn’t share with the media would include his stand on his vote. It would also include him saying that if he was elected governor he would not call for repeal of the bill and would start working on reducing state spending and fixing the tax code.

He said he knew the danger of answering a hypothetical question.

“I refuse to duck those types of questions,” McKinney said. “I think answering those questions honestly is the opposite of pandering.”

Connecticut Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo said that just because it’s a hypothetical doesn’t give McKinney the ability to “backtrack on a big vote and pander to the crowd he’s in front of.”

McKinney said he knew he was speaking to a group of 25 to 30 people who did not support his vote on the bill. He maintained his support for the legislation. But he said the legislature is the “will of the people” and if the legislature repealed something, as governor he would have to give it deference.

(17) Comments

posted by: Chien DeBerger | April 16, 2014 5:08pm

John, John, John - fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Not happening. Time to start looking for a real job.

posted by: DrHunterSThompson | April 16, 2014 8:48pm

nothing more says death to a politician than flip-flopping.

HST

posted by: Stan Muzyk | April 16, 2014 9:17pm

Realistically—the Democratic legislature would never send McKinney a repeal of the gun bill to sign if he was the Republican governor.

posted by: GBear423 | April 17, 2014 7:40am

i was at that meeting, he stood his ground, so to the commenters I think your not reading this well. The North East of CT is not the place a yes voter on 1160 wants to be.
He did not budge, defended his vote, and presented well his positions on fiscal and Connecticut reform. Hats off to the Senator.

posted by: art vandelay | April 17, 2014 9:31am

It reminds me of the time when Rowland said he would repeal the income tax. Anything to get elected.

posted by: JH_1 | April 17, 2014 10:41am

If McKinney is the nominee, I will vote for him regardless of him helping to pass SB 1160. He would still be much better than our current Governer. It would be a dire mistake for gun advocates to stay home this election if McKinney becomes the nominee.

Although I completely disagree with some parts of SB 1160, I do genuinely believe the bill could have been much more restrictive (confiscation of magazines, requiring “smart gun” technology on future sales, etc) had McKinney not been in those talks.

If it’s even possible, it’ll take years to flip the general assembly enough to repeal parts of that ridiculous bill, but at a miniumum, a republican has to be Governer to stop any further restrictions (see above). Don’t forget, if Malloy wins again, the anti gun groups will no doubt be right back at it next year. Every time a far left leader is elected, anti gun groups become emboldened.

posted by: Stan Muzyk | April 17, 2014 2:41pm

@dRhunterSThompsonL if your theory is correct—why do we still have a lot of politicians out there who have escaped death—and are still flip-flopping? Perhaps this indicates that our voters are the real flip-floppers who keep them in office?

posted by: Joebigjoe | April 17, 2014 6:09pm

Foolish John.

If he really wants to make a change he should bring up a bill which is a compromise which allows for the sale of the banned weapons, but as much as it sickens me to say it, they have to be registered. I could live with that.

The anti 2nd amendment loons need to all watch the video at the Bundy Ranch where Bureau of Land Management Officers with M16’s are pointing them at American citizens and are heard saying"if you move forward any more we will shoot”. After they watch that then tell me what the 2nd amendment is for and how that would never happen in this country.

Then they can jump on Facebook with their little friends and think about why Facebook banned the video. I can tell them why? Facebook and Zuckerberg dont want people being educated on what’s really going on.

Luckily that video is posted elsewhere by people that respect other amendments of the Bill of Rights.

posted by: art vandelay | April 17, 2014 10:49pm

I have to agree w/JH_1. I’ve been a lifelong Republican and I DO more than my fair share of Republican Bashing on this site. When push comes to shove I will vote for the Republican nominee no matter who he or she is. A Republican would do a much better job in Hartford than the current occupant sitting in the Governor’s Chair.

posted by: LongJohn47 | April 17, 2014 11:00pm

Joe, are you saying that duly sworn law enforcement officials should give ground to any group of armed citizens who refuse to accept legal authority?

Are we really at the point where bands of vigilantes with guns are to be praised and the rule of law and the courts are to be replaced with the threat of mob violence?

posted by: gutbomb86 | April 18, 2014 12:18am

@longjohn - that’s PRECISELY what Joe is saying.

Here’s what I’m saying. The gun nuts supporting the anti-gov’t tax cheater in Nevada are terrorists. Blind faith in unfettered gun possession for everyone is not “education.” Anyone who believes that large numbers of other people agree with the Nevada tax cheater is pretty far gone and out of touch with reality.

Make no mistake about it, the clowns that showed up in Nevada were TERRORISTS with M16s protecting a tax cheat who doesn’t believe in the legitimacy of the federal gov’t, the same federal gov’t and the same America that young men and women have given their lives to protect. The same federal gov’t that has maintained the 2nd Amendment despite the obvious damage that comes from it.

The more this nonsense from Nevada stays out there as a Republican issue, the further from victory the Republican party will be. So keep at it, Bigjoe! Keep talking about the big conspiracy to block videos (but apparently not those on the evening news) ... keep talking about how you’ve become the victim.

Keep talking about the clown who refuses to pay his taxes and has even suggested on Hannity’s garbage airtime that the federal gov’t managed to change the moon over to “red” this week.

And BTW, John McKinney is one of a very few Republicans in Connecticut to have shown guts and leadership on firearm regulations, and as a result he probably won’t win his party’s nomination because the true gun nuts are going to scare the rest of the party into falling into their crooked line. If McKinney did win the nomination, he would have a shot at beating Malloy, because he is the closest thing to a moderate in the race. But the gun nuts will have none of it. They have their fingers on the trigger and that’s pretty much all they know. Twitchy.

Read the story and you will see that he stood his ground on his support for the legislation despite the hostile crowd. He stood his ground for his constituents - far more honorable than anyone who would undermine the gov’t because they’re upset about having to file more paperwork for their guns. He said he would support repeal as governor if the legislature voted in favor of repeal, so let’s not sugarcoat it in overly democratic terms - the democrats released that video to further divide the Republicans. The gun rights advocates really are LUCKY he was in the room when the legislation was written.

posted by: gutbomb86 | April 18, 2014 12:43am

Further - let’s not sugarcoat what happened in Nevada in anti-gov’t, gun-lover terms either.

What the federal authorities have done so far has been a show of mercy and overt diplomacy in avoiding bloodshed. The feds have the firepower and wherewithal to subdue, arrest, or kill every one of them. M16s or no M16s. But let’s face it - that was a crowd of borderline mentally ill individuals, like a cult. The feds aren’t in the business of slaughtering the mentally ill. Cooler, smarter heads prevailed. And the feds aren’t going anywhere, either. They will be back. The tax cheat will get what’s coming to him - a prison sentence - in due time. His worship of a “county only” gov’t won’t save him.

posted by: Joebigjoe | April 18, 2014 7:27am

You just showed how decent people would ever follow a person like Hitler and go along with killing fellow citizens, the Jews.

Last I looked, the government is here to serve us, and they are not our masters.

Last I looked the word TERRORIST as you used in it capital letters is meant to describe the types of people that fly planes into buildings, massacre innocent people, and blow up bombs at marathons.

You are supporting one of the most powerful political leaders in this country who has called American citizens Domestic Terrorists. He has also now gone to the FBI and Attorney General to set up a task force about a rancher in Nevada.

You keep using the term “tax cheat”. In your posts you never mentioned the legal doctrine of prescriptive rights that many judges and lawyers around the country have said is a very strong case for Bundy.

You never mentioned that the judge in Nevada that ruled against Bundy was appointed by Harry Reid.

You never mentioned the destruction of Bundys property by the government. Will that cost be coming off his bill?

You never mentioned the tasing of his son because he stepped out of a “free speech zone”. Never assaulted a BLM officer, but he stepped out of line so let’s taser him.

You never mentioned Harry Rieds son and the fact that he is paid by a Chinese solar company with interest in the Bundy property.

You never mentioned that Bundy has said that although he disagrees with the grazing fees he will pay them to the county and if they want to pay the US Government they can. The government won’t let him do that. Why? Because they want the land for other purposes to line the pockets of people.

You never mention the first story that this was about desert tortoises but we find out that’s a lie by the government and they themselves destroyed tortoise dens in this process.

Do I want law enforcement officers shot? Of course not. Military? Of course not.

But when governments turn on people, who gets sent to do the dirty work? If that ever happened here are we supposed to just allow it and worse, similar to the Germans encourage it?

posted by: Joebigjoe | April 18, 2014 7:49am

New news for you Gutbomb and LongJohn.

There is no Federal tax Lien filed in Clark County Nevada by the US Government.

Harry Reid seems to think that Bundy is a tax cheat. Is it possible he owes money to the IRS? But if that’s the case how would someone in the Senate be able to get that information from the IRS? I thought that would be illegal.

The fact is similar to Reid taking the floor of the Senate and saying he heard from a reliable source that Mitt Romney had not filed tax returns for ten years which was a huge and reckless lie, this is a sick man. He is power and money hungry and a perfect portrait of corruption and the type of person the 2nd Amendment was concerned about.

posted by: Fisherman | April 18, 2014 10:44am

Pandering 101. Statements like this are why the Republican Party MUST unite behind Foley in order to defeat Malloy.